Posted on by Reid Spencer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Driving the same car number that carried teammate Kurt Busch to victory in the May race at Kansas Speedway, Bubba Wallace claimed a dramatic win at the same track in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, the second event in the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Wallace regained the lead on Lap 225 after the final cycle of green-flag pit stops at the 1.5-mile track and stayed out front for the final 43 circuits as his car owner, Denny Hamlin, chased him to no avail.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

Wallace crossed the stripe exactly one second ahead of Hamlin, as a driver not competing for the drivers’ championship won for the second straight week. Hamlin finished second for the second straight playoff race, having trailed Erik Jones to the line last Sunday at Darlington.

“Man, just so proud of this team, so proud of the effort that they put in each and every week,” said Wallace, who won for the first time this season and the second time in his Cup career. “Just thankful for the opportunity, right? Took this jump from an idea two years ago from a text from Denny before it all even happened. He was ready to get the deal done…

“Just so proud. Pit crew was awesome today. We had one loose wheel. Just thankful. Thanks for the opportunity, and thankful to shut the hell up for a lot of people.”

Wallace is competing for the Cup Series owners’ championship in the car Kurt Busch drove for the first 20 races of the season before suffering lingering symptoms from a concussion after a wreck in qualifying at Pocono. With his win, Wallace qualified for the next round in the owners’ competition.

Christopher Bell, who ran third, is the first driver to lock himself into the Playoffs’ Round of 12 on points. The other 15 championship contenders will have to establish their positions in the final 12 — or suffer elimination — next Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bubba Wallace stands on his car and celebrates his Kansas win
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

During the final run, Hamlin passed Bell for the second position on Lap 252 of 267. With 10 laps left, Hamlin trailed by 2.066 seconds but could get no closer than the final one-second deficit the rest of the way.

Hamlin clearly had mixed feeling about his pursuit of the No. 45 23XI Toyota he co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan.

“It’s been a good overall day,” said Hamlin, who recovered from an equipment interference penalty — his 34th pit road infraction of the season — on Lap 27 under a competition caution. “Still frustrated about the first half of the race. We just aren’t executing all that well. …

“Really happy for our 11 Toyota team. They fought hard. They really stepped up that last half. We made the car quite a bit better. Just really happy about the outcome and really happy for that 45 team and Bubba Wallace and (crew chief) Bootie (Barker). Bubba has just really worked hard on his craft, and we’ve just given him fast race cars, and now he is showing what he has got.”

Alex Bowman led a race-high 107 laps and finished fourth, followed by non-playoff driver Martin Truex Jr. Championship contenders William Byron, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suárez completed the top 10.

MORE: Analysis: Cup Series Playoffs field

Other playoff drivers weren’t as fortunate.

A sudden disaster knocked Kevin Harvick out of the race before the end of Stage 1. Racing side-by-side, Chastain and Wallace steered up the track in front of Harvick’s No. 4 Ford as the cars sped through Turn 4.

Harvick’s Mustang snapped loose and the right-front of his car pounded the outside wall. With damage too severe to repair, Harvick retired from the race in last (36th) place.

“When those two cars came up in front of me, I just got super tight,” Harvick said after a visit to the infield care center. “When I lifted, it grabbed and got loose. I just wasn’t expecting them to come up and my car getting that tight.”

Harvick entered the race 16th in the playoff standings. The last-place result puts him in a must-win situation next Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“Yeah, it is what it is,” Harvick said. “We were racing to win anyway today, so that’s what we will do again next week.”

Harvick wasn’t the only casualty of the first stage. Pole winner Tyler Reddick blew a right-rear tire while leading on Lap 65 and slammed into the outside wall in Turn 2. He brought his No. 8 Chevrolet to pit road, but attempts to repair the car proved futile, and Reddick was eliminated in 35th place.

“The right-rear tire just blew like we’ve had a few times,” said Reddick, who fell to 11th in the playoff standings. “At Fontana (Auto Club Speedway), I was able to save it. But here, it snapped at the worst possible point, and we just killed the wall.

“It broke the control arm on the right-front, so our day was over. We leave here with not a lot of points, so we’ll have to fight hard at Bristol.”

The updated Playoff Grid after Kansas

Troubles continued for playoff drivers when Kyle Busch, whose team already had incurred two equipment interference penalties on pit road, spun off Turn 4 on Lap 137. Busch’s right-side tires went flat as he skidded toward the infield grass, and Busch lost a lap as he nursed his wounded car to pit road.

Busch got his lap back as the beneficiary under caution at the end of Stage 2, but he lost two laps during the final 96-lap green-flag run. His 26th-place finish dropped him two points below the current cut line for the Round of 8, trailing Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric by that margin.

Joining Busch and Harvick in the bottom four are Austin Dillon (14th Sunday) and Chase Briscoe (13th). The playoff field will be cut from 16 to 12 drivers after next Saturday’s race (7:30 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM) at Thunder Valley.

NOTE: Post-race technical inspection concluded without issue, confirming Wallace as the winner of the event.


Posted on by Staff Report

Pole-starter Tyler Reddick dropped out early from Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, absorbing the impact of a Stage 1 wreck that placed a dent in his playoff hopes.

Reddick’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet had led for 38 laps after an early competition caution, but he smacked the outside retaining wall exiting Turn 2 at the 1.5-mile track, damaging the car’s right side.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

“The right-rear tire just blew like we’ve had a few times,” Reddick said after a check at the infield care center. “At Fontana, I was able to save it. But here, it snapped at the worst possible point and we just killed the wall. It broke the control arm on the right-front, so our day was over.

“We leave here with not a lot of points, so we’ll have to fight hard at Bristol.”

Reddick completed just 67 of the 267 scheduled laps in the Hollywood Casino 400. He placed 35th in the 36-car field, with only Kevin Harvick — a fellow playoff contender and the race’s first retiree — finishing worse.

Reddick finished third in the playoff opener last weekend at Darlington Raceway, offsetting some of the negative effects of his Kansas crash. He sits two points above the cut line, tied with rookie Austin Cindric for 11th place in the postseason standings.

The four lowest-ranked drivers among the 16 playoff contenders will be eliminated after Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM) at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Kevin Harvick needed a good run during Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Early on, it looked like he was heading in that direction.

Entering Kansas, Harvick sat 13 points below the cutline after his No. 4 car caught ablaze in the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway. That dropped him to last on the playoff grid.

In practice on Saturday at Kansas, Harvick’s car looked average, ranking 10th on long-run speed. Harvick took the green flag from 14th starting position. But it didn’t take long for the No. 4 car to rocket up the leaderboard, getting as high as fifth.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

Shortly after a restart following the Lap 25 competition caution, Harvick was battling with Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain in a close contest for third. When attempting to drop in behind the duo off Turn 4 on Lap 32, his car’s front end broke loose and it pounded the outside wall. Harvick regrouped and hit it again further down the frontstretch, further disabling his car.

Limping around the track, Harvick brought his car to pit road for the Rodney Childers-led crew to assess the damage. It wasn’t good. The crew chief said over the radio that every piece of suspension from front to back was broken.

Just 32 laps in, Harvick — who is tied with Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano as the all-time wins leader at Kansas — was done for the day. He earned just one point.

“When those two cars came up in front of me, I just got super tight,” Harvick said from outside the infield care center. “When I lifted, it grabbed and got loose. I just wasn’t expecting them to come up and my car getting that tight.”

Dating back to the regular season finale, Harvick has three consecutive DNFs for the first time in his career. Before this streak, he had consecutive DNFs just once before (2004) in 782 Cup Series starts.

Looking ahead to Bristol, Harvick lost 22 points to the cutline at Kansas and is now sitting 35 markers below the cutline, which is currently a tie between Tyler Reddick (who blew a tire while leading and finished 35th) and Austin Cindric. He’s likely going to need to win at Bristol in order to advance to the Round of 12, a track he’s won at three times in the past.

“Yeah, it is what it is,” he said. “We were racing to win anyway today, so that is what we will do again next week.”

Of his Bristol outlook, Harvick said simply, “Go win.”

Harvick has top-two finishes in each of the last two races at Bristol on the concrete. He has multiple walk-off wins in the past, including a Dover stomping, where he led 355 of 400 laps in the opening round of the playoffs in 2015.

Posted on by PJ Walsh

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

Well, not many of us, except for the Action Network’s Nick Giffen, saw that coming.

Erik Jones, a non-playoff driver, won the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs last weekend at Darlington. Meanwhile, a handful of championship contenders found trouble.

NASCAR now heads to Kansas Speedway for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM), the second race of the Cup Series’ postseason.

Teams will run a new tire combination in Sunday’s race — one that wasn’t used when NASCAR visited Kansas back in May — so we opted to wait until Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions finished to ensure we had as much data as possible.

So, with those now in the books, here are our two favorite bets for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas.

RELATED: Updated race-day odds for Kansas

NASCAR Picks for Kansas

*Odds as of Sunday morning

PJ Walsh: Chase Elliott (+200) for a Top-Five Finish

In his past 10 NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas, Elliott has one win and seven top-six finishes. His worst result over that span was a 29th-place finish at this track back in May.

On the periphery, that seems bad considering it was the only race held at this track in the Next Gen car. However, that finish is a bit deceiving.

After starting 14th, Elliott drove to a third-place finish in Stage 1, then backed that up with a fifth-place finish in Stage 2.

Unfortunately for the driver of the No. 9 Chevy, Elliott blew a left rear tire while running in sixth place with 71 laps to go, confirming that this car was much faster than his 29th-place result.

In addition, I checked in with Giffen, who mentioned that his NASCAR at Kansas betting model gives Elliott a 43.7% chance to score a top-five finish, easily beating the 33.3% probability that 2-1 odds at DraftKings imply.

Nick Giffen: Chris Buescher (+2500) for Top Ford

Neither of the Roush Fenway Keselowski cars made the playoffs, and it’s highly likely they are experimenting during these playoff races.

It appears the experiment has paid off.

Buescher was the fastest Ford driver over five consecutive laps in practice. Over 10 and 15 laps, Buescher was less than 1/10 of a second slower than Blaney for top Ford honors in those metrics.

Earlier this year at Kansas, Buescher was fast in practice again, placing sixth overall in five-lap average. However, he didn’t make a qualifying lap and was relegated to a 35th-place starting position.

In the race, Buescher showed speed moving through the field. Unfortunately, he got into the wall just past the halfway mark, which caused his speed to plummet.

Those looking at his 26th-place green flag speed will be misled.

Instead, my FLAGS metric positions him as the 18th fastest, despite his lack of track position throughout the race. It’s likely he had an even faster car than that.

We’re looking at a repeat scenario and by removing the fast Toyota and Chevy drivers it helps narrow the drivers Buescher needs to beat.

DraftKings is giving us Buescher at 25-1 to finish as the top Ford driver.

My model pegs him at 6.8% to do so, well above his 3.8% implied odds.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

Kansas Speedway put on a thrilling Cup Series race in May. Based on practice, many drivers believe that will be the case again on Sunday.

MORE: Full fantasy preview for Kansas | Starting lineup

One thing is for certain, though, Tyler Reddick was quick on Saturday. And Kansas, a place where the preferred groove is running against the wall, suits a driver like Reddick, who maximizes his performance in the top lane.

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:

Starter 1: Tyler Reddick

Starter 2: Christopher Bell

Starter 3: Kyle Larson

Starter 4: Martin Truex Jr.

Starter 5: Kyle Busch

Garage pick: Bubba Wallace

NEXT IN LINE: Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin

RISING: As noted earlier this week, Logano hasn’t had much recent success at Kansas, aside from holding off Kevin Harvick in 2020 for the win. The No. 22 Ford was mediocre in practice on Saturday, too, posting the 13th best single-lap speed and 18th best 10-lap average. But Logano laid down a heater in qualifying and will start from the front row.

Bowman has had a summer to forget. Fortunately for the No. 48 team, fall is approaching. Bowman had a solid Darlington, now 10 points above the cutline. And he wasn’t too shabby in practice and qualifying at Kansas, posting his best qualifying effort since the Daytona 500. Bowman ranked third on long-run speed.

MORE: Bowman eager to shake summer woes

FALLING: With the rumor mill heating up on Kyle Busch’s future, some would argue it’s hurt his on-track performance. Expectations were high entering this weekend because of his recent performance at Kansas, including a third-place run in the spring. While some of the Toyotas had good Saturdays, Busch (and Denny Hamlin) lacked single-lap speed in qualifying and will start from the mid-20s. Still, I’m leaning on a good run from Busch on Sunday.

Over the course of his 13 Cup starts at Kansas, Chase Elliott has mixed results. But whatever was amiss on the No. 9 car at Darlington could be transferred over to Kansas. The No. 9 Chevrolet was the lone Hendrick Motorsports team to miss the final round of qualifying and was 17th in practice.

FEATURED MATCHUPS:  

Erik Jones vs. Daniel Suárez

Though his numbers don’t favor him at Kansas, Suárez acknowledged his speed on intermediates tracks this season when asked about his struggles at the 1.5-mile track. Jones was 26th in practice and qualified 24th while the No. 99 Chevrolet qualified 15th, so the choice this weekend is Suárez.

Kyle Busch vs. Denny Hamlin

These two drivers might have had the most surprising Saturday in Kansas. They were on top of each other in practice and qualifying, but 20th or worse in both sessions. Those numbers might be deceiving, as Toyota dominated the spring race. Leaning with Busch, solely off his recent consistency at Kansas.

Kyle Larson vs. Chase Elliott

The top two drivers at Hendrick Motorsports were on the opposite ends of the spectrum on Saturday. Per usual at Kansas, the No. 5 car was near the top of the scoring pylon and will start seventh. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if Larson were in contention for the win. On the other hand, Elliott was a disappointing 17th in practice and 22nd in qualifying. Larson is the clear-cut favorite this weekend compared to Elliott.

Ryan Blaney vs. Joey Logano

Blaney showed more speed in practice, but Logano jumped to second in qualifying. Both drivers have been inconsistent at Kansas over the last few years, but Logano’s three wins trumps Blaney’s 16.9 average finish in 15 starts.

Posted on by Sean Montgomery

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — One of the most dramatic restarts of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season came Saturday at Kansas Speedway, with rain on the horizon and top title contenders vying for the win.

Until the final restart, Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota had been the car to beat all afternoon. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver won Stage 1 and led a race-high 66 laps before JR Motorsports took control of the race.

With just two laps remaining in Stage 2, the green flag dropped for the final time and Justin Allgaier chased JRM teammate Noah Gragson through Turn 1 and down the backstretch. As Allgaier stumbled before the white-flag lap, Gibbs raced to his outside and the No. 54 Toyota driver pulled ahead.

Coming through Turn 4 for the final time, Allgaier squeezed Gibbs before diving to the bottom lane toward the finish line. In retaliation, Gibbs dove hard into the door of the No. 7 Chevrolet and the two collided coming to the checkered flag.

In his post-race television interview, Gibbs was remorseful.

“I’m very disappointed in my actions and I apologize to him. I thought [the contact with the wall] was worse.”

RELATED: Race results | Photos from Kansas

Allgaier shared his perspective on the final-lap incident.

“The tough part about [the contact] is I know we’re coming to the end of the stage and all those things, but if we were to go back green, I think it extremely limited his day,” Allgaier said in a post-race interview. “And probably was going to limit our day, as well. So, probably not the right move to make.

“I felt like I left some room out there and obviously I wanted it to be tight, right? You’re trying to get everything you can get, but try to leave enough room that he was gonna have a lane without making contact. Frustrations get the best of you, but just hate it that we tore up a race car that really wasn’t torn up before that.”

The race was called after the Stage 2 finish due to inclement weather — a rain-shortened end to a rugged battle that was just heating up.

But when asked if he would continue the tension moving forward, Allgaier replied with a peaceful outlook.

“It’s hard to have a strained relationship in this garage without trying to mend fences,” Allgaier said. “You’re around these guys and gals for what feels like an eternity throughout the course of the year. So, you have to mend fences. I know what he said in his interview and whether that’s what he feels or not, that’s to be seen. But I’m sure we’ll talk about it before we go next week to Bristol.”

Next Saturday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the final race before the Xfinity Series Playoffs begin.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – In what is turning out to be a banner season for Noah Gragson, the driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet scored his fifth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the year in Saturday’s rain-shortened Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway.

Gragson charged from sixth in the running order past cars on older tires — and past the dominant Toyota of Ty Gibbs — to grab the lead after a restart on Lap 76.

A light rain interrupted the proceedings on Lap 82, but Gragson held the top spot in a two-lap shootout at the end of Stage 2. When rain began to fall harder and drenched the track, NASCAR red-flagged the race on Lap 94 and subsequently declared Gragson the winner.

RELATED: Official results | Weekend schedule

The victory was Gragson’s second straight, his first at Kansas — the only active Xfinity Series track where he had previously failed to record a top 10 — and the 10th of his career.

“The 54 (Gibbs) was really fast all day,” Gragson said. “The pit crew did a good job all day keeping us in contention. That restart (on Lap 76) was the most important part of the race today. Yeah, it’s a rain victory, but we came off pit road third behind the 54 and 19 (Brandon Jones).

“They both took the top, and I chose the bottom, third row. I restarted inside the 19, and I could see the 54 pushing the 07 (Brett Moffitt, who along with Ryan Sieg and Austin Hill had stayed out on older tires). He (Moffitt) was spinning his tires pretty bad.

“I got to the lead on those guys, and that kind of was the game-changer on today’s race. I think we all knew that we were racing to halfway or a little after.”

Noah Gragson races in the Xfinity race at Kansas
Chris Graythen | Getty Images

After the restart with two laps left in the second stage, there was drama right behind Gragson. As Justin Allgaier battled Stage 1 winner Gibbs for the runner-up spot, Allgaier forced Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota high into the outside lane.

Gibbs brushed the wall and subsequently turned down and door-slammed Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet as the cars approached the finish line. Allgaier held second, .670 seconds behind the race winner, with Gibbs finishing third, 1.266 seconds back.

After the race, Gibbs apologized for losing his cool on what proved to be the final lap.

“I came back down, frustrated, and hit the 7,” Gibbs said. “The worst part is, I hurt my day more than it’s going to hurt anybody else’s. It’s just stupid of me to do that. I just think I need to fix those things… It’s easy for all of us to get angry — me especially. I just didn’t make the right decision there.

“I apologize to them. I apologize to my group. I should be the one taking the door off the race car, because I hit him.”

MORE: At-track photos: Kansas | Gibbs, Allgaier clash

Allgaier had mixed feelings about the stoppage. His car was improving with every pit stop, but the damage he suffered during the run-in with Gibbs would have limited his chances to win, had the race resumed.

“If we were to go back green, I think it extremely limited his day and probably was going to limit our day as well,” Allgaier said. “Frustrations get the best of you a lot of times, but I just hate it that we tore up a race car that wasn’t really torn up before that.”

Pole winner Brandon Jones ran fourth, followed by Ross Chastain. AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer and Moffitt completed the top 10. Mayer and 16th-place finisher Riley Herbst clinched Playoffs spots on points with one race left before the cutoff.

The Xfinity Series’ regular-season finale is scheduled Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM) at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Note: NASCAR officials reported no issues with post-race technical inspection in the Xfinity Series garage, confirming Gragson as the race winner. Officials indicated that eight cars would be taken to the NASCAR Research & Development Center for further review. Those teams (in numerical order): No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, Nos. 7 and 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolets, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, No. 39 RSS Racing Ford, No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet, No. 51 Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Contributing: Staff reports


Posted on by Sean Montgomery

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — When Alex Bowman crossed the finish line last weekend at Darlington Raceway, it was only his second top-10 finish in a strenuous 13-race stretch. As the opening round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continues Sunday at Kansas Speedway, Bowman is hoping his summer struggles are finally in the rear-view mirror.

Bowman came out of the gates with an early statement win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, securing another playoff berth and his fourth consecutive season with a trip to Victory Lane. But when June began, the No. 48 team struggled to find speed and consistency almost every week.

“It hasn’t been great,” Bowman said in an interview Saturday afternoon. “The summer was pretty rough on us. We started the year pretty decent and pretty consistent and then kinda fell apart through the summer. But I think we’re kinda back to a good place now and I think we have a shot at making some noise the next nine weeks.”

CUP SERIES: Weekend schedule | Playoff standings

Though they entered the playoffs as the 15th seed, the strong showing at Darlington moved Bowman into 10th in the current standings. And with just one finish outside the top 11 in Bowman’s last eight races at Kansas, the No. 48 wheelman is confident that they have what it takes to make a strong playoff run.

“High-level motivation, I think, is the strongest part of our program,” Bowman said. “We’re all working super hard but I think our mile-and-a-half stuff is really good coming here particularly. This is one of my best race tracks, so really looking forward to it.”

Success started early this weekend for Bowman, running ninth in Saturday’s practice session and improving to third during Busch Light Qualifying — his best qualifying effort since the Daytona 500.

MORE: Photos from Kansas

After the session, the change in his tone was noticeably more optimistic and confident.

“I think everywhere we go, we have a shot,” said Bowman. “But yeah, our intermediate program is really good and I love Kansas. It’s definitely one of my favorite places.”

Bowman rolls off on the second row in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) looking to improve on his ninth-place finish at Kansas earlier this season.

Posted on by Sean Montgomery

Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway
(⏰ 3 p.m. ET | 📺 USA Network, NBC Sports App | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)

Everything you need to know for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas, the second playoff event of the 2022 campaign.

Where: Kansas City, Kansas
Approximate start time: 3 p.m. ET | Weekend schedule
TV/Radio: USA, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio | Full TV schedule
The purse: $8,338,881
Forecast: Sunny, with a high near 75 degrees, according to NOAA.gov | Weather tracker
Race distance: 267 laps | 400.5 miles
Stages: 80 | 165 | 267
Pit-road speed: 45 mph
Caution car speed: 55 mph
Kansas 101: Get the full lowdown
Starting lineup: Where drivers will start Sunday
Pit stalls: See where your driver pits Sunday
Cars to the rear: No. 10 (engine change) and No. 47 (unapproved adjustments)
Playoff grid: Print yours now

Key things to watch 🔑

Big story line

Darlington Raceway shook up the playoff outlook. Many contenders and predicted locks for the Round of 12, including title favorite Chase Elliott, found themselves off to a shaky start in their pursuit of a championship. Sunday’s crucial race at Kansas will set the stage for the first elimination race, letting each team know what it needs to accomplish before next week’s daunting Bristol Night Race. Four drivers below the cutline need to take the necessary risks to have a big points day. And those above need to avoid mistakes at all costs. Who will rise to the occasion?

Who’s hot? Who’s not? 

Christopher Bell is turning up the heat at the right time, rocketing up the playoff standings with a strong showing at Darlington. Bell has finished top eight in three of the last four races, with the only non-top 10 coming at Daytona International Speedway. The good news for Bell and the No. 20 team is that his run-of-form should continue at Kansas, where the Toyotas were on a tear in the spring and Bell finished fifth. If they can find success again this weekend, you may see a lot of folks adjusting their playoff predictions.

What happened to Ross Chastain? Chastain was arguably the fastest driver throughout multiple points this season, leading him to a pair of wins and close finishes at the top of the leaderboard. But lately, Chastain and the No. 1 crew have been reeling. The team has seven consecutive finishes of 18th or worse and is slipping down the standings a bit. A decent finish — 20th — at Darlington kept him in the hunt with misfortune for a handful of others. But he will need to right the ship this weekend at Kansas.

Driving under the radar

Amidst the title talk, Alex Bowman’s name generally gets lost in conversation. But Bowman has the potential to be a serious wild card and shake up the playoff outlook entirely. Though they ended the pre-playoff summer stretch reeling, a 10th-place result at Darlington could be the spark this team needed to make a run. Bowman has five top 10s in the last nine Kansas races and has scored stage points in eight of the 18 stages. It would not be surprising to see him have success on Sunday.

Saturday’s sessions

Tyler Reddick showed up Saturday with incredible speed, roaring past Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace to take the top spot in the lone practice session. Reddick put together a 32-lap run with a best time of 30.184 seconds. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. suffered from a blown rear tire, making contact with the wall and needing to make lengthy repairs after practice.

In a qualifying session without many surprises, Reddick proved to be a familiar face at the top of the board. Reddick earned just his second Busch Light Pole Award of the season, and first on an oval layout, with a blistering 29.899-second lap time. Reddick was the leader of five Chevrolets in the top 10, followed by Alex Bowman, Chastain, Kyle Larson and William Byron. Bell was the top Toyota and Joey Logano, joining Reddick on the front row, starts second to lead the Fords. | Full practice, qualifying recap

 

A view of the track from the infield tunnel.
Jennifer Fisher | NASCAR Studios

Race-day staples ✅

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.

• Paint Scheme Preview: See the new schemes for Sunday | Pick a favorite
• Power Rankings: Christopher Bell looking like an early contender | Updated driver rankings
• NASCAR betting: Odds for 2022 Kansas playoff race | Underdogs, value bets
• Fantasy Fastlane: Which team will find the Yellow Brick Road? | Top plays, sleepers
• Title contenders: Analyzing the playoff drivers after Darlington | Read more

Catch the pack 💨

Read up on the top headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race.

• In-car: Cameras debut for full field at Kansas | Read more
• Rule change: New changes to address fire issue from Darlington | Read more
• Suárez vs. Bell: Suárez still heated after Darlington | Bell will watch his back
• Alex Bowman: Hoping to shake off summer struggles at Kansas | Read more
• Kyle Busch: Reportedly picks a team for 2023 | Full Jayski report
• 2023: North Wilkesboro set to hold All-Star Race | Read more
• Champion’s Week: Event returns to Nashville for 2022 | Read more
• Kyle Larson: Chimes in on Hendrick Motorsports vs. JGR at 1.5-mile tracks | Listen here
• Stacking Pennies: Austin Dillon joins to recap the weekend | Full podcast

Get in on the action 💰

Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.

• BetMGM: Breaking down driver matchups for Kansas | Read more
• The Action Network: Daniel Suárez battles Erik Jones | Matchup insight
• Play it LIVE: Full guide to 2022 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | New rules for playoffs
• Going all the way: 2022 Cup Series championship odds | See them here
• The Action Network: Why Elliott, Buescher are good race-day bets | Read more
• Fantasy update: Dustin Albino’s lineup after Saturday’s action | Read more

Coming back to Kansas 🌻

Heading back to Kansas is always a treat, especially in the playoffs. Take a look at some important history. 

• Do you remember?: Memorable moments at Kansas Speedway | Relive them here
• Earlier this year: Kurt Busch holds off Kyle Larson for electric win | Race recap
• Race Rewind: Next Gen takes on Kansas for the first time | Watch highlights

Fast facts ⏩

Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.

• All six Toyotas entered in May at Kansas finished in the top 10.
• The pass for the win came in the final 10 laps in 15 of the 27 races in 2022.
• Kevin Harvick is the only active driver with an average finish in the top 10 at Kansas.
• The last seven playoff races were won by drivers under the age of 30.
• The last time Ford won a playoff race was 15 races ago in 2020 at Kansas, won by Joey Logano.

Say what? 🎙

Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.

• “We’re looking forward to Kansas this weekend. We feel like this is an opportunity to run well based on how our season has gone and how we ran there in the spring. For us, we need to be a little bit better than what we were then, but we feel like we can certainly do that. It’s also an exciting weekend welcoming Acumatica on board for their first NASCAR race, so we want to put on a good show for them and hopefully continue building momentum here in the playoffs.” — Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

• “Racing at Kansas earlier this year, I felt like we made so many gains and learned so much as a team. Kaulig Racing has made some steps in the right direction over the past few weeks, so I’m looking forward to getting back in the No. 16 Camaro with CURE Token onboard this week and showing the progress we have made together.” — Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

• “Thankfully, the points situation is much better than I expected, but we’ve still got to have two solid races. I felt like Darlington was where we’d struggle the most out of these first three tracks. The plan for Kansas and Bristol is to get some stage points and be there at the end. We don’t necessarily need a win, even though that would make it a lot easier, we just need to have a really good points day.” — Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.